No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 289 



Our own practice is not to purchase complete fertilizers but to 

 procure rock phosphate, bone meal, nitrate of soda and muriate of 

 potash, mixing on the barn floor to meet the needs of each crop for 

 which it is to be used, at the same time taking into consideration the 

 previous treatment of the soil to be cropped. If manure has been 

 used freely for a crop of cabbage, very little, if any manure is applied 

 to this land if it is to be planted with tomatoes. Excessive quanti- 

 ties of manure causes too rank growth of plants and the crop will be 

 small and late. Applications of potash and phosphoric acid are 

 always beneficial for tomatoes and it is safe to use these elements 

 quite freely. Bone meal placed in the hill at the time of transplant- 

 ing any vegetable in the field is highly beneficial. Nitrate of soda 

 can often be used to advantage as a top-dressing about the plants 

 after they are established. If applied before a shower at the rate 

 of a teaspoonful about each plant, the good effect may be seen almost 

 immediately by the plant taking on a darker green color. For actual 

 cost of nitrogen, nitrate of soda is usually the cheapest form, but it 

 must be used skilfully to prevent loss by leaching. 



TILLAGE. 



Profitable market gardening requires thoroughness all along the 

 line. The haphazard method employed by some general farmers in 

 cultivating their crops will absolutely fail to secure even fair re- 

 sults in the production of vegetables. Cultivation should begin at 

 the earliest possible moment after the crop is started and repeated 

 at frequent intervals. If the horse or man-labor on the farm is not 

 suflScient to care for the field crops as well as the garden crops it 

 is important that additional labor be employed. 



It is not possible to enter into a detailed discussion of the essen- 

 tial points in the culture of the various garden crops. There is a 

 great profusion of literature on subjects pertaining to gardening 

 and it may be procured at very little cost. The Farmers' Bulletins 

 of the United States Department of Agriculture may be had free of 

 charge and many of them relate to the culture of garden crops. 



ROUND TABLE— SECTION B. 

 (CoNDtJCTED BY Prop. Watts.) 



MR. SCHWARZ: Why do you put yield as one of the points ahead 

 of quality? 



Answer: Many beginners do not get enough produce to make a 

 profit from the crop. You must have yield first. 



MR. SCHWARZ: The beginner must consider quality first if he 

 wishes to establish himself in business. 

 19—7—1904 



